Candidate Donald Trump may have been less hawkish than Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, but President Donald Trump is still continuing the foreign policy of the last 50 years: interventions.
On Monday, the president unveiled his national security strategy and delivered a complementary speech. Trump may want to change the status quo of the last 16 years, but the document itself is more of the same.
Despite Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul optimistic about Trump’s rejection of the neoconservatives, the foreign policy of Ds and Rs will persist.
I agree with @realDonaldTrump – time to reject the naive nationbuilding of the neocons and try a true American First realist foreign policy.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 18, 2017
Graham Noble of Liberty Nation summarizes the document:
Of the four ‘pillars’ of this strategy, the first is “protect the American people, the homeland, and the American way of life.” This covers immigration reform and border security, a ‘layered’ missile defense system, infrastructure improvements, and cybersecurity enhancement.
The second pillar is “promote American prosperity.” This is to be achieved by creating the conditions to grow the economy, preventing the theft of American intellectual property and ensuring that trade deals work in American interests. It also includes achieving not only energy independence but energy dominance.
The third pillar is “preserve peace through strength.” According to this strategy, the military should be, once again, expanded after years of downsizing. The Obama-era ‘sequestration’ will be ended and the full spectrum of military capabilities enhanced.
Finally, we have “advance American influence.” The Trump approach to international relations has never been about imposing the American way of life on foreign nations. However, according to this strategy, the U.S. will once again take a leading role in international organizations to promote American interests and “America’s commitment to liberty, democracy, and the rule of law.”
Simply put: more government, more interventions, more military spending.
Who knows what’s going on in Afghanistan? Trump ordered the bombing of Syria this past spring. The North Korean situation worsens. Interventions are likely to continue. This would be the same direction if Clinton had been elected.
The document is covered with “national interest,” which is vague, but suggests that pretty much every interventionist quagmire is conducted for national interest.
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